Page 121 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Prague

PR A GUE C ASTLE AND HR ADČ AN Y  119

. Santa Casa
Stucco figures of VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
many of the Old
Testament prophets Practical Information
and reliefs from the Loretánské náměstí 7, Hradčany.
life of the Virgin Mary Map 1 C3.
by Italian artists deco­ Tel 220 516 740.
∑ loreta.cz
rate the chapel.
Open Apr–Oct: 9am–5pm daily;
Nov–Mar: 9:30am–4pm daily. &
5 7:30am Sat, 6pm Sun.
Transport
v 22, 25 to Pohořelec.

. Church of the Nativity
Gruesome relics, including
fully clothed skeletons
with death masks made
of wax, line the walls of
this 18th­century church.
The frescoes are by Václav
Vavřinec Reiner.
Legend of the Santa Casa
The original house, said to be
where the Archangel Gabriel told
Mary about the future birth of
Jesus, is in the small Italian town of
Loreto. It was believed that angels
transported the house from
Nazareth to Loreto in 1278
following threats by infidels. After
the Protestants’ defeat in 1620 (see
pp32–3), Catholics promoted the
legend, and 50 replicas of the
Loreto were built in Bohemia and
Moravia. This, the grandest, became
the most important in Bohemia,
and received many visitors.

17th-Century Cloister
Built originally as a
shelter for the many
pilgrims who visited the
shrine, the cloister is The stuccoed Santa Casa
covered with frescoes.

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